Jennifer Viegas in Born Animal for Discovery News


Barack Obama made history last night when he was elected as the first African American U.S. president, but he may have also made history in yet another way when he said, "I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." That brief puppy mention may represent the first time that an animal has been referenced in a presidential victory speech. If not, use of the word "puppy" would certainly seem to be a rarity.


(Credit: Robert Sebree / reprinted from A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere (Fireside Books)


The above photo shows Obama with "Baby," a three-legged dog that lost its fourth limb following years of mistreatment at a California puppy mill. The toy poodle spent much of its life locked in a small wire cage. The breeders cut out Baby's vocal chords so that they would not have to hear her cries. In cages next to her, other dogs literally went insane, spinning repetitively with blank stares. Still others were gravely ill, maimed and had filthy, matted coats. A number was tattooed on the inside of Baby's ear, marking her as just one of many dogs at the mill.

When Baby got too old to produce enough puppies, the mill breeders planned to kill her. A passing stranger noticed the little dog in her wire cage and rescued her. Through a pet rescue web site, Baby was then adopted by psychologist and animal welfare advocate Jana Kohl, who previously worked for the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

Kohl recently traveled around the country with Baby, lobbying politicians and inspiring an entire movement to end the kind of animal abuse Baby suffered. Many of the cute dogs that you see in pet store windows come from puppy mills like the one that housed the now-famous toy poodle.


Baby, an unofficial spokesdog for The Humane Society of the United States, stopped to pose with many high profile supporters, including our new president. The images were compiled in Kohl's book A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere (Fireside/Simon & Schuster; June 3, 2008; $25.95/hardcover; 1-4165-6403-9).



Gloria Steinem wrote an essay about her love of animals for the book.
(Credit: Gerri Hernández)


And Baby also posed with the Chicago White Sox.

(Credit: Jamie Slade)

 

Please watch the below video to see additional photographs from the book including, towards the end, more memorable images of president elect Barack Obama and Baby.

A Rare Breed Of Love